{"id":4894,"date":"2012-04-30T04:35:52","date_gmt":"2012-04-30T10:35:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4894"},"modified":"2025-09-01T11:46:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T16:46:19","slug":"great-egret-preening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/30\/great-egret-preening\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Egret &#8211; Preening"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload aligncenter wp-image-153717 size-full\" title=\"Great Egret with an eye on me, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250.jpg\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250.jpg\" alt=\"Great Egret with an eye on me, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida\" width=\"630\" height=\"850\" data-id=\"10744\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27630%27%20height%3D%27850%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20630%20850%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27630%27%20height%3D%27850%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250-200x270.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250-400x540.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250-600x810.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250.jpg 630w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><span style=\"color: #888888;\">Great Egret Preening &#8211; Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 200, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 340mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Just a simple Great Egret image that always seems to tickle my funny bone when I view it because of the pose. I was wandering through a Florida Spartina marsh when I came across this egret preening and watched as it seemed to turn itself into a pretzel!<\/p>\n<p>Getting this image was no easy feat. I had to sit down on the ground with young <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spartina\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">spartina<\/span><\/a> plants that were poking through my pants to get the photo. Those things hurt!<\/p>\n<p>It was worth it though because every time I look at this photo I laugh. Then laugh some more. And I love to laugh, it is part of <em>my<\/em> nature.<\/p>\n<p>Life <em>is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n<p>Mia<\/p>\n<p>Click <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/great-egret-images\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my Great Egret photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just a simple Great Egret (Ardea alba) image that always seems to tickle my funny bone when I view it because of the pose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,25,362,89],"tags":[4004,4272,4039,5132,6214,743,351,37,4157,11399,363,173,90,519,4019,11397,4018,4139,165,11398],"class_list":["post-4894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-florida","category-great-egrets","category-humor","tag-adult","tag-ardea-alba","tag-beach","tag-coastal","tag-dunes","tag-egret","tag-egrets","tag-florida-2","tag-funny","tag-funny-bone","tag-great-egret","tag-gulf-coast","tag-humor-2","tag-nature","tag-preening-2","tag-pretzel","tag-sky","tag-spartina","tag-spring","tag-twisted"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/great-egret-preening-spartina-mia-mcpherson-0250.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1gW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":127812,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/23\/what-the-fluff-great-egret-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":4894,"position":0},"title":"What The Fluff? Great Egret Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I took this Great Egret photo yesterday at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. Even with the morning mist, I could tell something fluffy was stuck on its bill.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret in a morning mist with cottonwood fluff on their bill, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/great-egret-april-morning-mist-mia-mcpherson-8781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/great-egret-april-morning-mist-mia-mcpherson-8781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/great-egret-april-morning-mist-mia-mcpherson-8781.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/great-egret-april-morning-mist-mia-mcpherson-8781.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110948,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/03\/08\/when-life-gives-you-a-twisted-neck\/","url_meta":{"origin":4894,"position":1},"title":"When Life Gives You A Twisted Neck Just Go With The Flow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 8, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"When I took photos of this Great Egret with a twisted neck and buggy eyes at Fort De Soto I didn't think I'd still be laughing at them fourteen years later.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret with a twisted neck and buggy eyes, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-egret-goofy-fort-desoto-mia-mcpherson-9349.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-egret-goofy-fort-desoto-mia-mcpherson-9349.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-egret-goofy-fort-desoto-mia-mcpherson-9349.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/great-egret-goofy-fort-desoto-mia-mcpherson-9349.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":175215,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/04\/22\/log-rolling-great-egret-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":4894,"position":2},"title":"Log Rolling Great Egret at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 22, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I had fun taking videos of a log rolling Great Egret in low light and mist two days ago while at Miner's Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Log rolling Great Egret, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-egret-log-rolling-mia-mcpherson-screenshot-142326.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-egret-log-rolling-mia-mcpherson-screenshot-142326.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-egret-log-rolling-mia-mcpherson-screenshot-142326.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/great-egret-log-rolling-mia-mcpherson-screenshot-142326.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":149898,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/07\/07\/foraging-great-egret-close-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":4894,"position":3},"title":"Foraging Great Egret Close Up","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The day before the recent holiday, I was happy to take a close up photo of a foraging Great Egret at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge from the road.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Foraging Great Egret close up at Sequoyah NWR, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/great-egret-close-up-ok-mia-mcpherson-1298.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/great-egret-close-up-ok-mia-mcpherson-1298.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/great-egret-close-up-ok-mia-mcpherson-1298.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/great-egret-close-up-ok-mia-mcpherson-1298.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3884,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/12\/20\/hunting-great-egret\/","url_meta":{"origin":4894,"position":4},"title":"Hunting Great Egret","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This Great Egret hunting photo was taken early in the morning as the sun had just begin to touch the grasses, the bird and the water.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Great Egret hunting in a Spartina marsh, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0522.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0522.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0522.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-hunting-mia-mcpherson-0522.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71715,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/07\/08\/great-egret-in-front-of-stormy-skies\/","url_meta":{"origin":4894,"position":5},"title":"Great Egret In Front Of Stormy Skies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the birds I found that summer morning was a Great Egret perched on a stump that the waves of the Gulf had deposited on the shore of the beach.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Birds&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Resting Great Egret in front of storm clouds, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-in-front-of-clouds-mia-mcpherson-6453.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-in-front-of-clouds-mia-mcpherson-6453.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-in-front-of-clouds-mia-mcpherson-6453.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/great-egret-in-front-of-clouds-mia-mcpherson-6453.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}